WEEKEND EDITION: The local radio club (CAARA) is back
in the road racing business, we provided communication for
the last three YuKan run 5k and half marathon races. A good
way to keep amateur radio out there in the community and see
we do a few good things... A few of our local hams went to
Dayton for the hamfest and we should get some photos of the
new venue soon....have fun out there Bill-WZ1L and
Brian-WO1VES.
Dayton Hamvention Update -
Friday
Ham traffic jams were the order
of the day as the 2017
Hamvention opened at Greene
County Fairgrounds and Expo
Center in Xenia, Ohio this
morning. Convention-goers eager
to experience Hamvention's new
venue waited in traffic for up
to 2 hours.
The weather on Friday was
slightly overcast and humid,
with an occasional breeze as
Hamvention attendees perused
exhibits in several large halls
named after such notables as
Hertz, Tesla, and even ARRL's
Hiram Percy Maxim.
The four forum halls were active
all day, with ARRL's "Ham Radio
Makers and Hackers" forum
drawing a capacity crowd. One of
that forum's presenters, Glen
Popiel, KW5GP, was heartened
when, upon asking forum
attendees how many of them had
tinkered with microcontrollers,
nearly all of them raised their
hands.
Other Friday forum topics
included SHARES, MARS, best
practices for operators,
foxhunting, antennas, and more.
This year, DARA has provided
comment forms for forum
attendees to complete at the
close of each forum.
In addition to the exhibit
halls, there were several large
tents of exhibitors, which
featured clubs, equipment
distributors, and organizations
related to ham radio. The tents
offered a casual atmosphere.
The famous Hamvention flea
market was alive and well out on
the fairgrounds, with
convention-goers going from
table to table searching for
bargains.
At lunchtime, attendees lined up
at the numerous food trucks on
the fairground, which offered
french fries, pork chops,
chicken wings, pulled pork,
Italian sausage, steak
sandwiches, and more. People ate
at picnic tables and bleacher
seating dotted around the
fairgrounds.
The ARRL booth hosted ARRL
authors Joel Hallas, W1ZR; Glen
Popiel, KW5GP, and Ward Silver,
N0AX, for book signings.
Visitors to the ARRL booth met
with ARRL board members and
Headquarters staff, and stocked
up on books and Field Day gear.
In the early part of the day,
the crowds of attendees made it
tricky to navigate the aisles.
By 3 p.m., it was noticeably
easier to move through the
buildings and grounds. Rain
started around 4, and was at
times very hard. By 5 p.m. many
attendees had cleared out to
enjoy Friday night events and
relaxation.
ARRL staff posted several videos
to the League's social media
feeds over the course of the
day, to offer a sense of the
convention to those who were
unable to attend.—Becky
Schoenfeld, W1BXY, QST Managing
Editor
Jerry Rosalius, WB9Z, and Bill Moore,
NC1L (SK) inducted into CQ DX Hall of Fame
CQ magazine today announced the induction of two new members
to the CQ DX Hall of Fame, which honors those DXers who not
only excel in personal performance but who also 'give back'
to the hobby in outstanding ways.
CQ DX Editor Bob Schenck, N2OO, presented Hall of Fame
plaques at an induction ceremony held at the annual Dayton
DX dinner on May 19.
The 2017 inductees to the CQ DX Hall of Fame are:
Bill Moore, NC1L (SK) - the ARRL's DXCC Manager for over 20
years.
A public face of the program at hamfests around the world,
Bill was also a major contributor behind the scenes, leading
the transition from DXCC paper records to a computer
database, then years later, guiding a major upgrade to the
system that is in use today. Bill was severely injured in an
auto accident in 2014 and became a Silent Key last year.
Jerry Rosalius, WB9Z - an accomplished DXer and DXpeditioner,
he has "worked them all" with the exception of North Korea,
and participated in multiple major DXpeditions, including
seven that were named as "DXpedition of the Year" by the
Southwest Ohio DX Association. He is a frequent speaker at
club meetings and hamfests and regularly makes his home
station available for training new contesters.
The CQ DX Hall of Fame was established in 1967 to recognize
those amateurs who have made major contributions to DXing
and DXpeditioning. This year's inductions bring the total
number of members of the CQ DX Hall of Fame to 71.
AT HAMVENTION, HAMS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
DON/ANCHOR: We begin with - what else? - Hamvention which
gets underway as this report goes to production. One of the
highlights of this annual event is the recognition of
amateurs who've made a difference for others in our hobby.
The honorees this year have done just that. Let's hear more
about them from Amateur Radio Newsline's Neil Rapp WB9VPG.
NEIL: The celebration of ham radio that is the Dayton
Hamvention is underway as we go to broadcast. And part of
the celebration is recognizing the Hamvention award winners.
Two of the winners accepted the invitation to be featured on
a recent episode of Ham Talk Live! This year’s Amateur of
the Year is Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. Frank is the international
chairman of the Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station project. He worked for NASA and other space related
companies for 4 decades. Frank has worked on several
projects tying ham radio with space. And, his current one
involves maintaining a ham radio presence on the ISS.
FRANK: It is hard to believe that two weeks after the first
crew came on board, we inaugurated the amateur radio
station. And, we have been operational ever since. And so,
that was back in November of 2000. Since then, we've done
over a thousand contacts. We’re almost up to 1100 contacts
at this point. And what the team has accomplished has been
phenomenal… being able to allow hams around the world to
talk to the astronauts on orbit. When we get a crew member
that [is] interested in talking to hams on the ground, and
all of the students… and getting students excited about
amateur radio. That's a very important thing… not only
excited, but actually getting licensed.
NEIL: Bauer also reflected on the connection between space
and ham radio.
FRANK: This is that melding of amateur radio into other
activities, scientific activities and engineering
activities, where this hobby is just phenomenal. And, I’ll
say I’m forever grateful for the fact that I got involved in
amateur radio because it has helped my career, and it has
helped everyone on earth from that perspective.
NEIL: Ram Mohan, VU2MYH is this year’s Special Achievement
Award winner. Ram is the Executive Vice Chairman & Director
of the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Hyderabad,
India. Ram’s efforts to bring youth into amateur radio in
India has been exemplary.
RAM: Evidence of this activity in India is still on the
lower side, I would say. We are just trying to introduce and
create awareness on the activities for the youth to get
involved, and join, have fun, and interacting with people
all over the world… get to learn things about wireless
communications, as they practice the art of amateur radio.
And interestingly, this grown into leaps and bounds. A lot
of young people getting involved into the activity. They're
all excited to get into the world of amateur radio.
Do-it-yourself concept helps in building a skill for them.
And a lot of technical institutes are coming forward and
encourage the students to get involved in amateur radio. And
it is our effort to get the message across to all the young
people who want to get involved in the amateur radio
activity.
NEIL: Ram has also been involved in communications efforts
for several natural disasters, such as the recent Nepal
earthquake.
RAM: In India, we have several kinds of natural calamities
hitting the region… really pretty bad ones. The ones that
happened Gujaratin 2001. The earthquake took a toll on a lot
of people, and there was a major disaster and hams could
provide instant communications at that point in time. The
super cyclone of 1999 was a major disaster here in India,
and the tsunami of 2004.
NEIL: Ram is grateful for the recognition from the Dayton
Amateur Radio Association.
RAM: We are very fortunate that the award comes back to our
organization again after so many years.
NEIL: Another winner of the prestigious awards is Rob
Brownstein, K6RB, who won the technical achievement award
for his work with CW Ops. And the Clark County Amateur Radio
Club W7AIA, which serves Southwest Washington and Northwest
Oregon, received the Club of the Year award for their
efforts with youth, licensing, and visual situation
reporting. For more information about this year’s award
winners, go check out the official Hamvention program at
Hamvention.org, or tune into the entire broadcast on
hamtalklive.com.
BELIZE CLUB ADMITTED INTO IARU
DON/ANCHOR: It took some time, but Belize radio amateurs are
back in the IARU. That's good news for everyone who worked
hard to be included, as we learn from Amateur Radio
Newsline's Graham Kemp VK4BB.
GRAHAM: Less than a week ago, the top news story among the
headlines on the Belize Amateur Radio Club website was
about....the Belize Amateur Radio Club! After much waiting,
the ham radio group received its hard-won admission into the
International Amateur Radio Union in an overwhelmingly
positive vote - 77 member societies voting yes to membership
status, where only 55 votes were needed.
Although IARU membership is new to this club, the group
adopted the same name of an organization that previously
belonged to the IARU but no longer exists. Now the right to
membership in IARU Region 2 rests exclusively with this
Belize club, after IARU officials determined the group met
requirements established by the IARU constitution and its
bylaws.
The club's website, barc-dot-bz (barc.bz) proudly displays
the IARU press release, issued the 11th of May, announcing
the club's new official status. According to its website,
the club was established in 2015 to promote technical
education, encourage wireless experimentation and advance
international partnerships. Speaking of partnerships, the
Belize club's admission into the IARU makes it one of 167
member societies involved in this ever-widening global
community.
LAST DAYS TO NOMINATE YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR
DON/ANCHOR: If you haven't already thought of a young
amateur to nominate for Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill
Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award, you don't
have too much more time to come up with a candidate. Time is
running out! This award is our commitment to honoring young
talent. Is there a young radio operator who particularly
impresses you? Nominations are still open -- but not for
much longer - for amateurs 18 years of age or younger who
reside in the United States, its possessions or any Canadian
province. Find application forms on our website
arnewsline.org under the "YHOTY" tab. The award will be
presented on August 19th at the Huntsville Hamfest in
Alabama.
GERMANY GETS NEW 4 METER BAND
DON/ANCHOR: Things are about to get very busy on 70 MHz in
Germany. From now until late summer, hams will be enjoying a
test period on the band. That includes Amateur Radio
Newsline's Ed Durrant DD5LP, who has that story.
ED'S REPORT: The German regulator "BNetza" in its
announcement 384/2017 released on the 16th. May, a day
earlier than originally expected, reports that German
Amateurs may use a section of the 70MHz band from 70.150 to
70.180MHz for a test period starting from immediate effect
until August 31st this year. The same conditions apply as
were in place for the previous test in 2015.
These conditions are - the amateur is a secondary user on a
non-Interference basis (the primary users are the national
Railway and the Military), no portable or mobile operation,
25 watts ERP maximum on any mode up to 12KHz bandwidth and
horizontal polarisation only. All transmissions, including
equipment tests must be entered in a station log book.
Four meters is a little-used section of the amateur spectrum
and not available in many countries. The lack of suitable
commercially made amateur radio equipment has been a problem
until more recent Software Defined Radios have been able to
provide 70MHz access.
The 70 MHz band performs especially well during times of
Sporadic E propagation - typically occurring during the
summer months which permits radio communications throughout
Europe.
Additional details are available at 70MHz.de website, which
is in German but has translations into various other
languages available.
Already having sent a CQ on 4 meters with no replies as yet,
for Amateur Radio Newsline this is Ed Durrant DD5LP in
Bavaria, Germany.
SCOUT CAMPS GET ON THE AIR
DON/ANCHOR: The young radio scouts of K2BSA are busy again
on the air, activating the call sign at a variety of
locations - and showing up in Ohio for Hamvention! Here are
the details from Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Stearns
NE4RD.
BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we have 3 activations from
Scout Camps on the Air and we'll be seeing you in Ohio.
Douglas Sharafanowich, WA1SFH, will be activating WA1BSA at
Camp Sherman Hoyt in West Redding, CT on Saturday May 20th.
This activation is for the Radio Merit Badge Requirement
9(a)(6) and will have 20 scouts. Part of a STEM Merit Badge
weekend.
Larrie Deardurff, AF7NU, will be activating his callsign at
the Benton District Camporee in Alsea, OR on Saturday May
20th. Larrie will demo radio to Scouts at the Camporee with
an Icom-7100 and a Butternut HF9V HF Vertical.
BSA Troop 20 ARC, WS5BSA, will be activating Black Mesa in
Kenton, OK on Sunday May 28th. This active group will set up
Yaesu FT-817 from top of Black Mesa and operate SSB on 17m &
20m. They will use either Gipsy Dipole or MFJ-1899T Vertical
antenna. They will also carry portable 2m Yagi and attempt
to hit multiple repeaters in OK, TX, KS, CO, and NM using
FT-817.
Hamvention is this weekend May 19th through the 21st. K2BSA
will be present and will be answering your questions on how
you can get involved in radio scouting. We look forward to
seeing as many of you there as we can. We'll be in booth
2205.
ONE CLUB'S HOMEBREW SOLUTION
DON/ANCHOR: When it comes to ham radio, there's
homebrew.....and then there's homebrew. When one New Jersey
ham club realized it was facing a major overhaul of its
repeater system, they knew they couldn't just pass the hat
to raise money. So they came up with a solution that was
strictly homebrew....and it involved a project that was also
strictly homebrew. We hear more in this report from Amateur
Radio Newsline's Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT.
CARYN: How can a portable HF magloop antenna help an aging
system of UHF and VHF repeaters? Actually, it can save the
day when it becomes a homebrew fundraising project for a ham
club. Rob Fissell K2RWF, president of the Tri County Radio
Association in Union, New Jersey, said this magloop was the
right choice at the right time.
ROB: W2LI has been in existence now for over 80 years at
this point and one of the big things we provide is a very
wide area coverage repeater sytem, both VHF and UHF. That
equipment is starting to show its age. We wanted to be
proactive about coming up with replacements for it and
ensuring that whatever we bought would last us for a decade
or two to come and with that comes with the expense of it.
Rather than kind of wait for something bad to happen and all
of a sudden we need to scramble, we thought we'd take the
proactive approach of fundraising through a number of
different avenues or at least explore a number of different
avenues and work to get the money ourselves.
CARYN; Work is just what they did! Gathering on weekends
with antenna components and an order of Chinese food or
donuts, they held "antenna building parties." Working
assembly-line style, they have already shipped 40 mag loops
and the club continues to receive pre-orders for the next
batch. Rob says the little antennas are downright popular!
ROB: It's a club-raising effort and people like the concept
that not only are they getting a quality product but they
are also supporting a cause at the same time.
CARYN: The antennas cost $165 and every sale helps the
bottom line, says Rob. Best of all, this venture is all
about hams building something for other hams - and in turn,
it's about hams buying something that will benefit fellow
hams. Like a mag loop antenna itself, the effort all comes
full circle.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT
DON/ANCHOR: If you'd like to order a magloop antenna, visit
the club website at w2li.org/magloop - all sales include
shipping and are used to fund the repeater system.
WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, John, KK7L, is using the call sign T2R
from Funafuti Atoll between May 23rd and 29th. He will be
operating on various HF bands and may also take part in the
CQWW WPX CW contest. Send QSL cards via N7SMI, LoTW or
ClubLog.
Listen for Ken, LA7GIA, active as TN5E from Brazzaville
between May 25th and June 4th. Find him on 80-10
meters -- and possibly even 6 meters -- operating CW and SSB.
Send QSL cards via M0OXO, LoTW or ClubLog's OQRS.
Janusz SP9FIH will be on the air as E44WE from Bethlehem in
Palestine until May 30th. He is operating with 100 watts and
focusing on 17 meters. Be listening as well on 10 meters and
6 meters. Send QSLs via Club Log OQRS.
Finally, we have an update on the latest Summit-to-Summit
event. In the Europe to North America Summit-to-Summit event
last Saturday the 13th. of May, a total of 36 European
summits and 18 North American summits were activated.
Despite abysmal radio conditions with deep QSB and high QRN
levels several trans-Atlantic QSOs were made, including some
summit to summit contacts. Overall everyone enjoyed the
event and many are already looking forward to the next event
on the 18th of November when it is hoped that conditions
will be significantly improved.
KICKER: SPECIAL DELIVERY
DON/ANCHOR: Our last story, which comes from Australia,
isn't exactly about amateur radio but it IS about changing
times and changing communication. It's the story of John
Riddett, a longtime postal service employee who obviously
knows all too well that a message delivered effectively is
always a welcome message. John isn't a ham, sorry to say,
but his telegraphy skills are something many CW operators
would envy. He trained in Morse Code as a teenager in 1953
at the Postmaster General's office and he used his talents
afterward to help send telegrams. That's a practice now out
of use for about 50 years. Now John gets the message across
by demonstrating his skills to children visiting the Telstra
Museum in Hawthorne, Melbourne. This spring, however, he
took a trip to Alice Springs for a ten-day gathering of
former postal workers who, like him, were once fluent in the
poetry of dots and dashes. It was his 24th such gathering
but this year only John and two other former telegraphers
showed up. He told ABC Australia that judging from the size
of the turnout, the get-together was probably going to be
one of the last. With that kind of turnout, he said, he got
the message - unfortunately well-delivered.
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New England Hams you
might run across on 3864 or 3910.........
K1TP- Jon....Editor of As The
World Turns....
W1STS-
Scott...philosopher, hat
connoisseur,
KB1JXU- Matthew...75 meter
regular...our token liberal Democrat out of VT
KA1BXB-Don....75 meter
Regular......residing on the Cape of Cod, flying
planes and playing radio
KMIG-Rick....75
Meter Regular....teaches the future of mankind, it's
scary!
W1GWU-Bob....one of
the Hosstrader's original organizers, 75 meter
regular, Tech Wizard!!!
K1PEK-Steve..Founder
of Davis-RF....my best friend from high school
K9AEN-John...Easy going ham
found at all the hamfests
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can be
found at most ham flea market ...Cobra Antenna
builder..
K1BXI-
John.........Dr. Linux....fine amateur radio op
....wealth of experience...
KA1GJU- Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who cooks on
the side at Hosstrader's...
N1XW.....Mike-easy
going, Harley riding kind of guy!
W1XER...Scott....easy going
guy, loves to split cordwood and hunt...
K1BQT.....Rick....very
talented ham, loves his politics, has designed gear
for MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim-
Retired Air
Force Controller...told quite a few pilots where to
go!
N1OOL-Jeff- The 3936 master
plumber and ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce- Computer Tech of 3936...multi
talented kidney stone passing ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod,
construction company/ice cream shop, hard working
man....
W1VAK- Ed, Cape
Cod, lots of experience in all areas, once was a
Jacques Cousteus body guard....
KD1ZY- Warren....3910
regular
N1IOM-
Paul.....3910 test king....testing......always
right....
N1YSU- Bob,
easy going, kind of like Mr. Rogers until politics
are brought up then watch out...
K1BNH- Bill- Used to work for
a bottled gas company-we think he has been around
nitrous oxide to long .
K1PV- Roger....75 meter
regular, easy going guy...
Silent KeyWB1DVD- Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going,
computer parts selling, New England Ham..
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"- Low
key gent can be found on many of the 75 meter
nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ-
Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts truck driver-retired
Silent Key
W1OKQ- Jack....3936 Wheeling
and Dealing......keeping the boys on there toes....
Silent Key
W1TCS- Terry....75
meter regular, wealth of electronic knowledge...
Silent Key
WIPNR-
Mack....DXCC Master, worked them all!.. 3864 regular
for many years...
Silent Key
WILIM-
Hu....SK at 92... 3864 regular for many
years...
Silent Key
N1SIE- Dave....Loves
to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD- Big
Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10", of the 3864 group
Silent Key:
W1FSK-Steve....Navy Pilot, HRO
Salesman, has owned every radio ever built!
Silent Key:
W4NTI-Vietnam Dan....far
from easy going cw and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill-
Loved ham radio........Ham Radio Ambassador!
Silent Key:
K1GAR- John- Very colorful
character!......self appointed "hambassador" by
Gordon West.....
Silent Key:
N1GXW-Frank-Mellow Mainer..........
Silent Key:W1JSH-Mort-
Nice fellow to talk to on 3936 on the early
afternoon session
Silent Key:
K4WHO-Kerry-Mellow ham,
professional musician, one of the nice guys
on14313....
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